All the Frills: The Scotland Shelf

I realized, purely by accident, the other day that this little shelf of knick knacks in my living room has a bit of a “vacation in Scotland” theme to it. The little chess set is, of course, a replica of the Lewes Chessmen that I got at the National Museum of Scotland many years ago, and the framed picture is of my helpmeet and I the last time we were in Edinburgh, sampling some whiskeys. Funny how this little shelf came together.

Weekend Reading:

• Well now I want to see this movie. It sounds horrendous.
  
• The famed Mount Etna is sliding into the sea, apparently.
  
• I’m not going to lie, the thought of not having enough saved for retirement totally keeps me up some nights.
  
• I love me some true crime TV shows.
  
• “Good guys with guns” results in accidental shootings. Just sayin'.

Getting on the Velvet Train

I may love this velvet tuxedo style blazer from Zara (scored post-holiday for under $25 no less) the most of just about everything in my closet right now. I really can’t get enough of this thing.

blazer: Zara / pants: Zara / shirt: Simons / shoes: Spring

Out of Character

This top is definitely not my usual style. I mean it involves florals and pretty bright colours. But I thought it was too cute to resist and, more importantly, if would look great paired with my work wear staples of black pants and a black blazer. So I took the plunge.

pants: ASOS / shirt: Simons / cuff: Simons

All the Frills: Getting Precise

I’m doing a lot of reshuffling at home these days. I’ve welcomed a lot of new books and new art pieces into my home and that necessitates a lot of moving stuff around to accommodate the new pieces. But I think I’m finally happy with the way I’ve got this shelf of oversized art books arranged. And how wonderful is my little rabbit? Every time I look at it I’m reminded of Watership Down, one of my favourite books ever.

Weekend Reading:

• This set of articles on the post #metoo climate is great.
  
• In Disney news.
  
• Well this is a horrific bummer.
  
• All hail the bidet.
  
• I’m super mad about this Barbie too.

Sweatshirt Phase

I am all about comfy sweatshirts lately. Eleanor has been sick with recurring colds (as have I) and it’s still a bit cold out, so sweatshirts are basically my new go to. But in an attempt to avoid giving into my true self and just embracing my inner slob, I’m trying to acquire sweatshirts with a veneer of style to them. I think this one fit the bill.

sweatshirt: Simons / pants: Zara / boots: Primark

All the Frills: We Find Ourselves at 8 Months

Eleanor at 8 months is a wonder. She sits up by herself, isn’t quite crawling yet but loves to scoot around on her tummy (and is surprisingly mobile that way - it looks like she's doing the Worm), is eating all sorts of solid food, and is trying really, really hard to talk (watching her work out how to make various sounds and trying to connect some meaning to them is just cute beyond words).

Weekend Reading:

• I’ve had a lot of formal palaeography training (sort of essential if you want to work on early modern archival sources, and so I’ve taken a bunch of workshops and training sessions, as well as routinely practicing on my own and obviously having a lot of experience just from researching my dissertation an eventual monograph) but there was one set of documents in the Folger Shakespeare Library that just absolutely drove me nearly insane. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to decipher and transcribe them and had to get help from fellow readers quite often. How I wish I’d known about this company then!
  
• I’ve posted this piece on Medusa and political discourse before but it’s really fascinating so I’m unapologetically posting it again.
  
• Representation matters. A lot.
  
• I absolutely love The Prince and interpretations of it (hey, my PhD is also in Renaissance Studies and not just history).
  
• The delicious irony!
  
• Some of these photographs are just insanely stunning and thought provoking.

Weathering the Winter

As if the world needed proof that I looked decidedly less than glamorous in insanely cold (like -35 with the windchill) weather.

leggings: Simons / jacket: found at Century 21 / boots: Steve Madden / scarf: Aldo / hat: Target

A New Year

I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I am so far behind on getting blog stuff done that I’m only just now getting around to posting photos from around the holidays, as my last couple of posts suggested. Hey, Eleanor is a little bit of time suck so give me a break.

Anyways, here are my New Years photos. We made it out for a wee tiny bit this year to drop by a friend’s place and, of course, I ridiculously overdressed in sequins and an insane statement necklace.  And I have zero regrets. Getting all dressed up and feeling like you’re going somewhere really special made me feel wonderful that day – even if I was only away from home for a grand total of 2 hours. Totally worth it.

dress: ASOS / necklace: Banana Republic / jacket: Simons

All the Frills: St Paul's

My uncle was an absolutely amazing artist who did these absolutely incredible studies of various European churches and cathedrals. Like this representation of St Paul’s. I have another four or so similar works of his that I now need to places to hang. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Weekend Reading: 

• I’ve shared this article before, but it’s a great read and resonates a lot with me. For most of my life I was committed to being childfree and really only changed my mind in my mid-30s when a lot of other aspects of my life and lifestyle had also undergone a big change and so having a child became something that I wanted. But even then I was and am pretty adamant that I only wanted one child.
  
• To be both acknowledged and erased. This is a great read.
  
• If Ivanka Trump had a style blog.
  
• Of course there’s a dating site for Trump supporters. And, of course, it is dark.
  
• Oh Yale. You are shameful sometimes.

Seasonal Celebration

Am I ever behind on posts! I suppose that's not all that surprisingly given that I have an eight month old. But still. Anyhoo, this was worn for a pre-holiday celebratory dinner with my office mates. Turns out this is about as festive as I get, clothes wise.

dress: H&M / jacket: Simons / boots: Target / necklace: Jenners

Pre-Christmas

Worn to take Eleanor out to see Christmas lights (yup, that's how backed up on content I am over here!). I had anticipated possibly meeting friends for a drink after we took Eleanor out to see lights (the helpmeet was on board to take her home so I could squeeze in a visit with friends) but that fell through and, as a result, I’m the first to admit I was a tad impractically dressed for wandering around outside. Oh well.

leggings: ASOS / top: Simons / jacket: Wilfred / necklace: Stella and Dot / bracelet: Simons / boots: Steve Madden

All the Frills: Purse Edition

This Matt and Nat bag was probably one of the best gifts I received this past Christmas. It’s a perfect work purse that’s big enough to hold all the stuff I lug into the office daily, while still looking stylish. I also love its blue colour – a nice change from my predominantly black purse collection.

Weekend Reading:

• Finally, a chip as dainty as I am.
  
• Want to be both saddened and filled with rage?
  
• The Huntington Library has acquired a wonderful collection of antique Valentines. This is such a coincidence because one of my very early blog posts was about this very collection and I posted it while I was living in California and working as a researcher at the Huntington for several months as I plowed away at my dissertation. Obviously the Huntington did not yet own the collection.
  
• Ah, my beloved Vanderpump Rules. Like Gollum (just substitute a ring for the show), I both hate it and love it as I hate and love myself. That also sums up my feelings about IKEA, by the way.
  
• I have always, always, wanted to visit the Winchester House. And I can’t wait to see the movie.